Revolution and Utopia (20166)

Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 3rd-4th.
Term:1st
Number of ECTS credits: 5 credits
Hours of studi dedication: 125
Teaching language or languages: spanish
Teaching Staff: Florencia Fassi

1. Presentation of the subject

 

Utopia and revolution: historical and philosophical projects of social transformation
Study of the evolution of revolution and utopia notions in relation to the cultural,
economic, political and ideological context in which they were drawn as well as and the most important historical manifestations of these concepts.  We pay special attention to the most relevant examples to modern and contemporary times, and its validity today.

 

2. Competences to be attained

Transferable skills

Specific competences

• Understanding and interpreting in an appropriate and reasonable way written academic texts. • Be able to justify with solid arguments their own positions as well as to defend them in public. • Develop the ability of autonomous reasoning with critical distance in controversial issues or questions. • Accept the diversity of points of view as a fundamental ingredient of academic and consubstantial life in the contemporary society and be able to present their own divergent opinions. • Continue with the development of the sense of curiosity and desire to know all that is been ignored at the moment. This behavior is essential in all the formative process and in all professional activity with projection.   • Be aware of the nature cross-disciplinary knowledge and of the convenience to transcend borders between academic specialties.

· Understand, locate and interpret the main texts about utopia and dystopia in the modern and contemporary world.     · Understand, locate and interpret the main events and texts which are referred to them about historical revolutions in the modern and contemporary world.     · Own the ability to differentiate clearly between the revolution and the utopia field.   • Own the ability to relate the notions of utopia and the attempts of social transformation in modern and contemporary times with the approach to the social movements of the twenty-first century. • Understand and use monographic studies and essential bibliography to address reasonable interpretation of utopian, dystopian and revolutionary texts about the contemporary politics philosophy. • Ability to interpret in reasonable and competent way written texts and other documents to create a justified own opinion.

3. Contents

Program

Unit 1

Introduction of the utopia notion and its relationship with socio-political transformations and scientific development. The Renaissance ideal city and Utopia by Thomas More: first examples

Unit 2
The French Revolution and the triumph of the illustrated ideals in comparison to the dream of reason and critical utopia: Gulliver's Travels by Johnathan Swift and Candide by Voltaire.

Unit 3
The Industrial Revolution and the formation of class society. The origin of the link between utopia and socio-communism in the utopian socialists: Robert Owen and Charles Fourier.

Unit 4
The thought of Karl Marx and the scientific utopia. Its presence in the Spring of Peoples in 1848 and the Paris Commune.

Unit 5
The Russian Revolution and Stalinism as the main inspiration of the twentieth century dystopias: Nosotros (we)  by Yevengueni Zamiatin the book called 1984 by George Orwell.

Unit 6
May 1968 and the end of the socialist utopia. Was it the origin of a new form of utopia?

Unit 7

Utopias and revolutions after the triumph of the capitalism in over the world: social contemporary movements.

 

*The full version with the sections: 4. Assessment, 5. Bibliography and teaching resources, 6. Methodology, and 7. Planning of activities is available in the original version.

 

4. Assessment

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5. Bibliography and teaching resources

5.1. Basic bibliography

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5.2. Complementary bibliography

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5.3. Teaching resources

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6. Metodology

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7. Planning of activities

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